Residents win battle to stop bar staying open until 1am

By Robert Firth, Local Democracy Reporter 

Residents in a posh Central London neighbourhood have won their battle to stop a bar opening until 1am on weekends after they claimed to have suffered sleepless nights from revellers partying in the street.

People living in Shad Thames, near Tower Bridge, said they had suffered months of nuisance from customers returning to vehicles parked near their homes after closing time and blaring music from car stereos until 4am or 5am.

Flyers promoting special events at the bar, Masq London, had even advertised ‘free parking’, which resulted in customers leaving their cars in streets outside residents’ flats, a council licensing meeting on Wednesday heard.

A representative for Masq London claimed the flyers were produced by outside promoters and said there was a lack of proof that the people residents were complaining about were customers of the venue.

He said the bar was being made a ‘scapegoat’ after some guests had previously parked in streets in the Shad Thames area, where flats regularly go for more than £1 million. But a Southwark council licensing committee sided with residents, councillors and police, and refused Masq’s application to open later.

Kathleen Ehrlich, chairwoman of the residents’ group, added: “Masq patrons often congregate around vehicles parked within Shad Thames for extended periods after leaving the venue, shouting and playing loud music. This behaviour frequently wakes residents.”

A representative for Masq said: “We can’t be responsible for other venues. We don’t know what goes on at other venues and how dispersal and how complaints are dealt with.

“We’re not here to talk about them. We can’t single out Masq being the troublemaker of the area because we’re merely here trying to better the area for the residents and for our clients.”